DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935)

Freddie Bartholomew and W. C. Fields

DAVID COPPERFIELD (aka The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger/1935). Director: George Cukor.

"They seem rather obstinate oysters!" -- Aunt Betsey.

After his beloved mother's death, little David Copperfield (a wonderful Freddie Bartholomew) finds himself at the mercy of his hated stepfather, Murdstone (Basil Rathbone) and his equally loathsome sister (Violet Kemble Cooper), then sent off to work in a factory where he is befriended by the benevolent Micawber (W. C. Fields, pictured). Then the poor boy has to make his way on foot, penniless, to the home of his peppery Aunt Betsey (Edna May Oliver). The problem is that when David grows to manhood and is played by the relatively colorless Frank Lawton, he becomes a supporting character in his own story, which on the whole is full of too many characters that you just don't care about. For the most part, the acting is excellent, however, with Oliver and Rathbone as good as ever -- not to mention Jessie Ralph as nurse Peggotty -- and Roland Young making a striking Uriah Heep. Lewis Stone, Elsa Lanchester, Lionel Barrymore, Una O'Conner and others are lost in the episodic and sometimes dull picture, but Fields and Bartholomew make an engaging pair. Even at 130 minutes' running time there's simply too much plot crammed into the movie, and the second half is not nearly as good as the first. I generally like honest sentiment, but in David Copperfield the sentiment is often treacly, the characters' affection for one another bordering on the cloying. Everyone is just too "cutesy." However, the movie certainly has its admirers.

Verdict: Has its moments, but it's no Tale of Two Cities. **1/2.

ST. BENNY THE DIP

Nina Foch and Dick Haymes

ST. BENNY THE DIP (1951). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

Benny (Dick Haymes), Monk (Lionel Stander), and Matthew (Roland Young) are three con artists trying to pull a rather mean score when the law intervenes and they take it on the lam. The trio hide out by disguising themselves as priests, and wind up running an abandoned mission for the indigent. Benny has trouble staying in character when he meets pretty illustrator Linda (Nina Foch), and the three men's fates just might turn out differently than expected. The premise might be a bit sappy, but it has possibilities that aren't overly plumbed in this quaint comedy that has some good performances. Haymes [Irish Eyes Are Smiling] is a cast standout, and is given one nice number, "I Believe," which is not to be confused with the more famous song of the same name; he's also in fine voice. Young and Stander are also good, with the latter less gross and tiresome than usual. He has a good scene reuniting with his long-suffering wife, Mary (a notable Jean Casto), late in the picture. Nina Foch [Illegal] is given an odd part, and at times she seems demented in her determination to marry a man she hardly knows. A shockingly bad performance is given by a grown-up Freddie Bartholomew, once a wonderful child actor, who plays a geeky young priest named Wilbur. Bartholomew could give good adult performances, as he did in The Town Went Wild, but in this he just tries too hard to be funny; it was his last picture. The odd thing about this movie is that it has a certain quality and appeal despite the fact that it's really not that good. Robert W. Stringer's interesting score, especially the excellent theme music, may have something to do with that.

Verdict: Oddly interesting comedy with some good performances. **1/2.

THE TOWN WENT WILD

THE TOWN WENT WILD (1944). Director: Ralph Murphy.

David Conway (Freddie Bartholomew) wants to marry his next-door sweetheart, Carol (Jill Browning), whom he calls "Poo," but there are complications. Their two fathers (Edward Everett Horton and Tom Tully) have been feuding for years, and worse, it apparently turns out that David and Carol's brother Bob (Jimmy Lydon) were switched at birth and David is really Carol's brother! The yuckier aspects of this situation are thankfully unexplored as the two dads' attempts to destroy an application for a marriage license for the two alleged siblings before scandal can result causes more complications, arrests, and zany courtroom scenes. Charles Halton of Dr. Cyclops is the testy town clerk, Tweedle, who advises everyone of the mix-up; Jimmy Conlon is the Justice of the Peace; and Maude Eberne, who was comedy relief in The Vampire Bat and a zillion others, is Judge Dingle. Even Charles Middleton shows up as a district attorney and has an amusing moment with Eberne. The lead actors are all swell -- Bartholomew's talent didn't vanish with adulthood -- and the film has its amusing moments, even if it's ultimately on the mediocre side.

Verdict: Anything with this cast can't be all bad. **1/2.

KIDNAPPED (1938)

Freddie Bartholomew

KIDNAPPED (1938). Directed by Alfred L. Werker.

Loosely based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson Kidnapped juxtaposes the stories of young David Balfour (Freddie Bartholomew) and Scottish rebel Alan Breck (Warner Baxter), whom Balfour comes across on his way to his wealthy uncle's castle in 1747. Although David does not at first approve of the activities of the British-hating Breck, he comes to admire the man and even does his best to save his life. As David comes afoul of his evil uncle, he keeps encountering Breck and Jeannie (Arleen Whelan), a woman Breck was taking to a compatriot who has to flee Scotland; instead Breck falls in love with her and vice versa. Although a touch obvious at times, Freddie is excellent, Whelan is lovely and affecting, and there are also wonderful performances from the likes of C. Aubrey Smith, Miles Mander, and H. B. Warner. Warner Baxter is heroic enough, but his acting leaves something to be desired. There's a great scene with a crumbling staircase, and the whole business with David being shanghaied, encountering Breck and Jeannie on ship board, is very exciting Well photographed by Gregg Toland.

Verdict: Good show! ***1/2.